New Understandings
by thedreamz
Summary: Voldemort has taken over the world and muggles along with muggleborns are being enslaved. Hermione is one of these and finds herself in an uncomfortable situation having to do with the Malfoys. DMHG
1. Enslaved

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own the characters and ideas in the Harry Potter series. I do, however, own this story. I own the plot of this story and the events that go through it. Many thanks to J.K Rowling for publishing her wonderful books and I look forward to purchasing the sixth book soon.

Summary: Two years after leaving Hogwarts, The-Boy-Who-Lived has been murdered by none other than the dreadful Lord Voldemort. Now that there is nothing stopping him, he has risen to power more quickly. Forcing all muggles and muggle-borns into slavery, he kills all that dares to stop him. But having achieved his goal of defeating Harry Potter, he has grown lazy and now does nothing. The most harm he could do is have his Death-Eaters capture muggles and destroy rebels...right? 19-year old Hermione Granger is among those that have been taken and sold to wealthy pureblood families. Weakened by the death of both her parents and a close friend, she must now cope with something new. Being sold to her former Hogwarts schoolmate. Yes. Draco Malfoy.

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Chapter One: **Enslaved**

"Oh. No." Hermione Granger gaped at what she was reading in the newspaper. She groaned and read it aloud to make sure she wasn't imagining anything, "You-Know-Who has decreed that all muggles and muggle-borns are to be put into slavery. He himself ordered that any pureblood wizards against this will be executed immediately. The same punishment will be given to anyone caught aiding mudbloods." She read this over and over again in her mind until it hit her. She was in danger. "There's one!" Someone yelled and she suddenly felt herself being shot backwards. Three men wearing Death-Eater cloaks reached down to take her. She screamed and tried to get away but her body from the neck down was paralyzed. Desperate, she struggled as much as she could to break free from the spell, but it was no use. The Death-Eaters grabbed her and carried her to a van. She was thrown inside, a bit on top of another girl. "Watch it!" The girl snapped angrily. "Sorry. It's not like I can move or anything." Hermione replied crossly and rolled her eyes.

She felt the vehicle lurch up, as if rising in the air. After a while of being rolled around in the back of the van, it halted and the doors flew open. The girls were thrown into filthy, cramped cages. They smelled and were beginning to rust. Hermione squirmed around to get used to her surroundings and found that she still had her wand. During the long ride, she had slowly regained control of her body. She took out her wand and tried to break open the cage door. Her wand didn't do anything. She tried again. And then again. It didn't work. She then used a spell that would make her hair tidy, but that didn't work either. A Death-Eater nearby had been watching her closely and grinned at her. "Don't wear yourself out by trying out your wand." He sneered. "We disabled all the your wands. Besides, you've got a long day ahead of you."

Hermione shot a fierce glare at him and tucked away her wand. She desperately searched for some means of escape, but the cage was escape proof. All the while, she watched as other muggles and muggle-borns were being put into cages like her, and left alone. Some, like her, were trying to get out while others sulked helplessly. She also noticed that wealthy-looking wizards and witches were roaming around, looking at the muggles sitting in the cages. Some stopped by her and talked quietly while staring at her. She tried to make herself seem as unappealing as possible by making farting noises and picking her nose. This seemed to work for a while.

As morning grew into afternoon, Hermione started to get restless and she wriggled about to get into a more comfortable position. She felt bitter and hated how purebloods thought that they were so much better than muggles. With a deep sigh, she stared at the feet passing by. It seemed like hours before one of the Death-Eaters came to her cage and opened it. He gripped her arm tightly so that it hurt, and pulled her out. "Ow! Let go of me!" Hermione yelled and fought back at him. He continued to lug at her until they got to a short, stout man. Despite his size, he was very strong, for when he took her, his hands were crushing her arms even more.

He flicked his wand at her, and her outer clothing disappeared. She shivered at the sudden icy breeze that blew past her. Feeling embarrassed at being in her bra and underwear, she tried to make herself disappear by shrinking to the ground. "Get up." The short man order and tore her from the ground. He dragged her to a wooden platform hovering in front of a large mass of people. Hermione felt her cheeks grow intensely warm as she was chained to a pole so she couldn't run away. The man muttered, "Sonorus." And his voice became louder without the use of a microphone. "Attention ladies and gentlemen! Our next slave! This girl is a muggle-born and is of good use if you want someone with knowledge of magic." The Death-Eater guarding her forced her to moved around in a circle so that the crowd could get a good look at her.

"Do I hear 25 galleons?" The short man, who seemed to be the auctioneer, called out.

"25,000!" Someone shouted out.

"30,000!" Another yelled.

"40,000!" Shrieked another person.

"60,000." Said a new voice. This one didn't seem at all excited, and was dull. Nonetheless, he could be heard through the roar of the crowd.

"65,000!" One person said.

"150,000." The dull voice retorted.

The auctioneer was grinning, happy to see how this was going. Hermione blushed furiously while all this was going on and continuously tried to cover herself up from the many eyes staring.

"156,000!" The first person shouted.

"300,000." Replied the emotionless voice again.

The auctioneer looked about the crowd. "300,000 galleons! Anyone else? Do I hear 310,000?" Everyone was silent. "Going once! Going twice! And SOLD to the lovely gentlemen in the back!" He shouted as the next girl was brought up in her undergarments as well.

Hermione, glad to have her clothes back and away from the watchful eyes of the mob, stepped off the platform to meet her new 'owner'. The auctioneer left the other girl at the pole and stood with Hermione both to make sure she didn't run off and to collect his money. He seemed extra pleased right now, having just sold her for a large amount of money. Soon, someone approached the two wearing a hooded sweater so she couldn't see who he was. The man handed a sack of galleons to the auctioneer who in turn nodded respectfully, "Pleasure to do business with you." The man that now 'owned' her took off his hood and gave him a curt nod in return.

A gasp escaped Hermione's lips when she saw who it was that had bought her. "Malfoy." She snarled through gritted teeth. With a pleased grin, he snatched her arm, which Hermione was not happy about especially since that had happened to her several times today already. "Why you ferret! I'd rather have a dementor suck the life out of me before I'd let you take me with you!" She snapped at him. "You haven't changed a bit, Granger. Still a little shrew, are you? If it weren't for your perfect body, no one would even look at you." He drawled smoothly.

She ignored his comment about her figure and glared at him. "Oh, please. Like I seriously want to be the property of some wealthy person? I think not! In fact, I wouldn't even care if I was ugly. As long as no one bought me." She said coldly as she was led to a long, green limousine. "Consider yourself lucky, Granger. Someone else would have bought you for a little fun." He slid a finger down to her lower back to emphasis what he meant. This produced a shudder to run throughout Hermione's body as she realized what he meant. Regardless of her circumstances, she was a bit grateful. At least she knew Malfoy. But still, he was still a stupid, spoiled ferret.

Hermione was pushed into the limousine and Malfoy entered behind her. The driver closed the door behind them and got in at the driver's seat. Without so much as a word, he turned on the engine and the automobile sank down into the street. For a moment, Hermione forgot all about her situation and looked out the window in wonder. They were now in what seemed to be a normal highway, except for the fact that they were underground and there were no other moving objects.

When the excitement of all this faded away, she suddenly found that Malfoy was staring at her from his spot opposite of her. She stared back at him, trying to force him to avert his eyes, but he remained stubborn. Having nothing better to do, she studied him closely. His hair fell down to the tip of his ears and looked the same as it had been in their third year at Hogwarts. She found that he was more attractive this way than when his blonde hair had been gelled back. At these thoughts, she disgusted with herself and had to look away. She soon started fidgeting with her untidy hair and staring out the window although there was nothing to stare at any longer. The awkwardness forced her to finally try and start a conversation. "So what have you been doing since Hogwarts?" She asked timidly.

Draco Malfoy crossed his arms and continued to watch her for a moment. "If you must know, Granger, I was actually enjoying life and becoming even more ultimately rich. We Malfoys will soon be the wealthiest family in the world." He spoke casually with no trace of emotion in both is voice and on his face. "Oh." Hermione nodded a little and was quiet after that.

Shortly after, they rose back up and were parked in front of a massive mansion that could only be the Malfoy Manor. At the top middle part of it was an elegant gold M on a green circle. The sight took her breath away. The building rose many stories above and seemed like a hotel. The front yard had one large snake fountain on each side of it, facing one another. Circular-shaped stone benches surrounded the fountains. When Hermione and Draco had stepped out of the limousine, it drove away and he led her to the entrance, magnificent double doors. He opened the door slowly, increasing Hermione's suspense. She felt almost eager to see what the inside looked like. The entrance came into a large room with a tall, dome-like ceiling. A large glass chandelier hovered high above and a pair of grand staircases curved down to meet a small wooden table standing in the middle. On the circular table stood a slender vase containing a single white rose. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The floor and stairs were made completely of marble and shone like it was just cleaned. Knowing Malfoy, it probably had been.

"Ah. Draco, my boy." A man with long, blond-white hair moved quickly down the stairs. His hair was tied back in a ponytail. Lucius Malfoy, a follower of Voldemort and father of Draco Malfoy. "I see you've found yourself a mudblood slave." He eyed Hermione with distaste. "Isn't this the friend of that Potter boy that is dead?" Draco nodded. "Yes Father. I'll make sure she gets a good whipping for helping out her friend. I thought that it would be quite entertaining to mess with her stupid head." Hermione was about the protest, but decided against it. She was powerless against them. Instead, she decided to stay until she had an escape plan figured out. Lucius smiled a bit to give his approval and strode away.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, now that the older man had gone away. "Follow me." Draco headed up the stairs and down the hallway. The floor of the hall was also marble, but a dark green rug ran down to the end, which seemed endless. The sides had double doors roughly 25 meters apart, which probably meant that the rooms were very large. Every once in a while, there would be an intersection where two halls would open up on the sides. They turned to the first left hallway and down another left. At this last hallway, there was only two doors, both at the ends. The hall was about 50 meters long, so the rooms were larger than the previous. "This is mine." He pointed to the right pair of doors. On it hung a rectangular, silver sign that said Draco Malfoy in fancy script. "And this." He paused to open the doors opposite of his bedroom. "Is yours." Hermione moved inside and gaped at it.

Her new bedroom was almost as big as the main room where the stairs were. Another glass chandelier hovered above the middle of her room and a king-sized four-poster bed with silk sheets sat in the center and on the wall opposite to the door. Something she also became aware of was that the carpet was silver plush and it was as soft as fluffy as a pillow. She continued to examine her surroundings and stepped further inside. There was a giant plasma screen TV on the wall opposite to the bed, complete with surround sound. Two huge windows with green curtains stood on either side of her bed. Two doors were on the right wall which led to the closet and bathroom. She found everything in front of her breathtaking.

Malfoy smirked and leaned on the door as he observed her actions. "Thank you so much!" Hermione ran and threw her arms around his neck. He was taken aback by this action and shoved her away. "Get back you filthy Mudblood!" He spat at her and stomped out of the room angrily. Hermione raised her eyebrows. She shrugged, having expected him to become angry at her for hugging him. With a smile, she leaped onto her bed and sighed cheerfully.

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Author's Note: Whew! That was long. XDD I hope you like this story so far and if you'd be so kind as to review, I'll love you forever! In the end of this story, I'll be sure to give shout-outs to those that are faithful reviewers. But please don't spam my review page. Love ya! 


	2. Weirdness

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own the characters and ideas in the Harry Potter series. I do, however, own this story. I own the plot of this story and the events that go through it. Many thanks to J.K Rowling for publishing her wonderful books and I look forward to purchasing the sixth book soon.

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Chapter Two: **Weirdness**

Suddenly, her door was burst open as Lucius walked in. He moved toward the closet and didn't seem to notice her until he got there. "What are you doing here?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes at her. "Mal—Draco said that this was my room now." She replied in a squeaky voice. "DRACO!" Lucius bellowed, fire raging in her eyes. In moments, his son appeared. As usual, his face was blank. "You do know what this room is for, don't you?" The full-grown man stared down at his son. His voice was quiet and dangerous. "Yes Father." Draco returned the stare fearlessly. "This is a GUEST bedroom, Draco! This girl!" Lucius pointed a finger at Hermione. "She is a servant!" He then stomped up to her. "You, girl, are to call my son Master and only Master at ALL TIMES. Do you understand?" He whispered the last few words.

Hermione nodded, her eyes wide with fear. He grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway. Draco stood at the doorway and watched, remaining expressionless. He didn't make a movement to stop his father. Lucius dragged her down the hall and to a plain door. Opening it, he tossed Hermione like a rag doll and slammed the door shut. Hermione grunted as she hit the cold, stone floor. She rubbed her side and slowly stood. Looking around, she was saddened by the much less elegant room before her. The green paint on the walls were starting to peel and a cot lay on the side for her to sleep on. A small, dirty sink stood in the corner near the door. She stared at her new room now, as if not believing that this was happening.

With a loud sigh.. One of depression, Hermione sat slowly on the hard cot and tried hard not to cry. She had to escape soon. She knew that if she stayed any longer, her dignity would disappear. All of a sudden, the door opened and Draco walked in. He stood with his back to the door and stared angrily at her. "Hey, I was just trying to make a good impression so you'd do stuff for me later on but nooo! YOU COULDN'T JUST HIDE SOMEWHERE WHEN LUCIUS CAME?" He acted as if it was her fault. She stood up heatedly and slapped him across the face. "You're the one that put me there in the first stupid place!" If it was possible, steam would be streaming out of both their ears. "Why you little—" He took out his wand and smirked. "You know… I could give you the worst pain you've ever felt in your life. Crucio!" Suddenly, Hermione felt herself twist and turn as she screamed. It felt as if someone was shooting at her and daggers were piercing through her skin.

When he had lowered his wand, she was lying on the floor and those few seconds in pain felt like eternity. She felt that she had died and gone to heaven when the pain had disappeared. Draco leaned down, their faces almost touching. He had a smirk on his face as he stared into her fearful eyes. "Get up." His order was barely a whisper. "Why should I do what you say, Malfoy?" She bravely answered him, careful not to cringe at the thought of the spell being cast on her again.

"You are to call me Master at all times." He drawled while twirling his wand in his fingers. "I will call you nothing but Malfoy!" Hermione glared at him and sat up, turning her back on him. She felt him grab her arm and twist her around. "Listen, Granger. You'd better call me Master. Or would you like a nice whipping instead?" She looked questioningly at him. "Oh, I definitely meant that remark I made in the main room. And looks like you'll get it soon enough." He pulled her up and hauled her out the halls, down one of the two stairs, and into a black door. When they entered, Hermione expected the worst, but it was empty. "Wha—" Draco clapped a hand over her mouth. "Shut up. You are not to speak unless I say so." She protested at this, "You're such an arrogant jerk!" She screamed at him and felt something hit her legs. It was hard and made a bruise on her leg. Looking back at him, she saw that he was now holding a whip.

The smirk on his face… She now noticed something that she never had before. He was really quite handsome with his hair covering his eyes a bit. Thinking this random thought, she wasn't aware that she had spoken out loud. "Handsome." She breathed as she watched him. He happened to catch this word and was surprised at her comment. His smirk returned and he snickered quietly. "You really think so, Granger?"

"What?" Hermione was snapped out of her trance and stared at him blankly for a second. "Oh!" She blushed and shook her head. "Of course not, Malfoy! I was talking about…" She couldn't finish her sentence. Instead, she rubbed her bruise and shot him a death glare. Draco laughed and cracked the whip in the air. "Now. Let's find some chores for you to do… Of course we've got stupid little elves for that, but hey, since you love them so much, why not join them?" He grinned and tucked the whip back on his belt. "Shall we?" He opened the door and motioned for her to exit.

With a roll of her eyes, she walked outside. Right when her foot stepped onto the marble, he snatched her wrist and pulled her across the room to another door. She trembled slightly, afraid of what might be in store for her. But when he opened the door, she let out a sigh of relief. It was only a small hall. He pulled her down to the end, which was not far considering the fact that the hall was only about two or three yards long. On each side was a door, which reminded Hermione of the hall that let to Draco's room. Only a big difference. These were bathrooms. On the doors were elegant words that said 'Ladies' on the left, and 'Gentlemen' on the right. Hermione snorted. As if Malfoy was a gentleman.

Draco forced her inside the right one and she gasped as he did. "Why should I come in here?" She wailed. "Because," He answered calmly, "You have to clean this place up." He was right about the place needing to be cleaned. The walls and floors were brown and black. She made a face of disgust. "If you Malfoys are so clean, then why is this bathroom so dirty?" She raised a brow. "Oh." He laughed loudly, making her feel uncomfortable. "We don't use these bathrooms. It's just for you to clean. And by the way, you have to clean this all before evening or I'll have to deal with you." With a final, heartless snicker, he closed the door behind her and locked it, leaving her alone in an unsanitary place.

She groaned as she stared at the place and looked out a tiny window in a high corner of the bathroom. It looked like late afternoon and if she didn't hurry, she would never finish. Another whipping, possibly more painful and violent, wasn't what she was in the mood for. She looked around for something to clean up with and sure enough, there was a bucket of clean water and a mop inside of it as well as a sponge and towel lying near it.

"Better get started." Taking the mop, she started scrubbing the floors. There was little effect and she sighed deeply, wishing she could go back in time and stay there. Nonetheless, she continuously tried to make the floors clean and her fingers grew numb and cramped after a while of this. At least the floors were starting to look shinier. She looked out the window. The sky was getting more colorful. She hurriedly made the floor spotless and took the sponge to work on the walls. The walls weren't as dirty and the dirt was easier to get off. She was soon able to finished all the walls and made a face when she realized that she had to make the toilets and those things guys use to pee, shiny. She took a look at them and was surprised when she saw that those were actually quite nicely kept. With a smug smile, she noticed that it was getting dark, and put down the cleaning tools. She waited for Malfoy to come and let her out. While she waited, she looked about at her handiwork and grinned. She couldn't help but be pleased at how nicely the bathroom turned out to look after she had worked out all the dirt stains and who knows what else.

As if he knew that she was done, the door flew open and she happily opened her mouth to boast of her accomplishment while she turned. Her voice got caught when she saw that it was not Draco at all, nor even anyone she knew. At least that was what she thought. A person wearing a hooded cloak much like the ones dementors wore took her by the arm and almost ripped her arm out of its socket as he dragged her out and back into the main room. She screamed as loud as she could for him (or her) to let go. Draco appeared at the top of one of the staircases and stood gaping for a moment before dashing down the stairs, taking out his wand.

Too late. The person shot a spell at Draco and he lost consciousness. Hermione let out a cry and tried her best to resist. He was too strong. She yelled as loudly as she could, but it was as if the whole manor was ignoring her. Draco had been the only one that had made an attempt to help her, but that wasn't enough. Suddenly, the front door opened and her captor looked that way. With the help of the distraction, she fled to the stairs and started running up, almost tripping over the blonde man. She frantically jumped over him and scrambled upward. After a few steps, she ran back and with all her strength, half-carried and half-dragged him with her. The next thing she knew, her body started to vibrate and she was frozen. Then, everything went black.

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Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter but it's only the second chapter and I'm running out of ideas. Anyway, please review and if you have any ideas, please don't hesitate to suggest it. Thank you! 


	3. Locked Up

Author's Note: Okay since I'm in a particularly good mood, I shall write. (Normally, I have writers block and am discouraged by the few reviews I get, but whatever.) Don't forget to review!

**runaway mental patient**: You're absolutely right. I'll add an explanation to that later. After all, muggles and wizards/witches have fireplaces, although the muggles only use them for fire, not traveling.

**forbiddenlight**: Aw, thanks. You're so great. People like you make me want to write more. –hug-

**Jaina Solo Potter, DudettRin101, gilmoregirl450**: Thank you bunches for your support! I appreciate it.

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Chapter Three: **Locked Up**

Hermione smiled as she lay in her bed at home. She had a pain in her hip where she had been lying on a hard spot, but she still snuggled against her pillow. All of a sudden, she realized what had happened. And without opening her eyes, felt around. The touch was cold, and it felt like concrete. Her eyes flew open and she realized that this wasn't her bed. Looking around, she saw that they were in an average-sized concrete room. There was nothing in it. Except, why was she leaning on something softer than concrete. With a small scream, she leaped up. In her attempt to move away, she fell over.

Draco Malfoy sleepily opened his eyes and looked at her, dazed for a moment. Then his eyes grew wide and he swiftly stood up. He smoothed out his rumpled clothes. "So where'd the pillow go?" His voice still sounded sleepy and slurred, as though he were drunk. He was still trying to wake up. "Th-that wasn't a pillow." Hermione felt her cheeks grow steaming hot and found herself staring at the floor. "Um, I thought you were a pillow too…" Embarrassed, she moved out of the way of his stare and examined the nearest wall.

She suddenly grew angry. She was angry at the Malfoys. The people who caught her. Everyone in the world infuriated her. "You were the one that brought me here, weren't you?" She abruptly pointed an accusing finger at him. "No way!" Draco was now wide awake. "I was the one that tried to bloody save your muggleborn arse." It was true. Hermione sighed and sat. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. After a while of silence, she stared straight at him. "You said muggleborn." She commented, almost surprised. He blinked at her. "Wha--? Oh." He shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I guess."

There was a different air in their surroundings than before. It felt rather pleasant, despite their circumstances. She smiled and began to relax a bit when someone slammed open an almost invisible door that she hadn't noticed earlier. "I see you two are awake." Said an all too familiar voice. Hermione instantly rose at the sound of it. "Do I know you?" The cloaked person stood in the doorway and she tried to peer inside his hood to see his face. "Who are you?" She demanded loudly.

"Hermione. I'm shocked! You can't remember me, Harry, one of your best friends?" He took down his hood. A large grin was on his face and he was just as she had remembered him. Just a bit dirtier. "Harry!" She threw her arms around his neck and almost strangled him. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! I thought you were dead!" Draco eyed him warily, a frown upon his face. "But you were killed." He stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Then how could I be here, Malfoy?" Harry laughed.

Hermione looked questioningly at Harry, completely ignoring Draco. "Of course you're here, Harry!" She beamed cheerfully. But somewhere inside of her, she felt that his laugh was different. And he seemed a bit odd, too. But she was too delighted to think much about it. Tucking these thoughts in the back of her mind, she continued grinning like a fool. "So, Harry. How did you escape? Everyone thinks you're dead!" Harry looked startled. "Well, uh. Um. I don't want to talk about it Gran-Hermione." He gave her an encouraging smile. Draco was still leaning against the wall, suspicious of him. Voldemort had claimed that he was victorious and that he saw Harry die with his own eyes. The Lord wasn't dense. He knew when someone was dead or not.

"So." She gazed up at Harry with shining eyes. "Can we get out of here, please?" He nodded and replied, "Why not?" He took her hand and started to leave. "Wait." Draco interrupted. "As much as I hate to interrupt such a nice reunion, Granger belongs to me. She is my property and I bought her with 300,000 galleons." He sneered and clutched her other arm. "You can't own someone." Harry answered calmly. Hermione watched the two argue for quite some time and she grew bored. She'd lost them at the 'someone'. Harry seemed to be winning, so she didn't get into it. Having two boys fight for her was actually new to her. Even if they weren't fighting for the reasons she would have wanted.

While they were quarreling, she was looking up at each of them when they talked, for they were both taller than her. Harry was skinnier and taller than Draco, but Draco had a fierce glare that intimidated many. "Hey!" Hermione disrupted their fight and pointed at Harry's forehead. "Where'd your scar go?" She squinted and saw that his forehead was just as normal as anyone else's. "I have no scar." He whispered in her ear and with an unexpected pull, Hermione was out of Draco's grasp and he was on the floor. Harry dragged her away, down what seemed to be pure black darkness. When she looked back, she saw that Draco had gotten up and was dashing towards them. "Granger!" She heard him shout in the distance.

"Where are you taking me, Harry?" She whined and pried his fingers open. This resulted in him tightening his grip even more. "Oh, I'm not Harry." He let out a cruel laugh that pierced the darkness and echoed in all directions. In moments, she found herself being tossed into a dark room and locked up inside. "Don't worry." He heard the imposter say. "I'll take care of your little friend. Malfoy, was it?" He snickered again and she heard his quick footsteps as she ran somewhere else. Her ear was pressed to the door as she tried to find out what was happening. After what seemed like forever, she heard distant voices. The sounds of yells reached her ears and she strained to hear them. Then, there was a thud and following that was silence.

She leaned against the door for a long time and then slid down slowly, tears coming to her eyes. All she could hear was her quiet weeping and she buried her face in her arms. "Draco." She murmured softly, mourning at the loss of something she could recognize. Even though he had been terrible to her, she thought that he was okay. After all, he did try to help her… And he was the only person she could really care for now that Harry was dead and Ron was somewhere far, far away. She continued sobbing until she heard a small thump.

Her head sprang up and she looked about the darkness. There was no telling what was in here, or how close they were. She didn't even know how big the room was. Or if it was even a room. All she knew was that she was leaning on the door. Slowly, she stood up and shouted a weak, "Who's there?" An eerie feeling crept throughout her body like an insect and she quivered uncontrollably. "Wh-who's there?" She asked again, and stepped forward, keeping her hand on the door so that she knew where it was.

There was no answer. Not even another thump. "WHO'S THERE?" She screamed at the top of her lungs. A hand clapped over her mouth all of a sudden and she tried to yell more, but the hand muffled her cries of help. She felt herself being held by the waist with one hand and the other still on her mouth. "Shush!" A rough voice told her. She could feel the warmth of a body behind her, and was immediately afraid. Without thinking, she bit the hand on her mouth, feeling the bitter taste of blood and sweat. "Ow! What'd you do that for, Hermione?" The man wailed. "Ron?" She recognized his whining. "Ron is that you?" She groped at the darkness until she felt someone's shirt. "Yes, it's me." He said. "Did that phony Harry trick you, too?" He held her hand. She could tell that he was grinning madly although it was too dark to see for sure. "Yes." Remembering this trick, she pulled away from him. "How do I know that it's really you?" She questioned almost coldly.

"Ask me questions if you'd like. I'll no doubt get them all right." He responded calmly and waited. "Alright, then." Hermione agreed. "That sounds reasonable. Now, first question: What are you most afraid of?" Without hesitation, he replied correctly. "Spiders." She nodded, pleased. Maybe it really was him. "Next one: Name three things we encountered during out first year when we were trying to retrieve the philosopher's (AKA sorcerer's) stone with Harry." "Fluffy the giant three-headed black dog, devil's snare, and giant wizard's chess." He said quickly.

"What language did we learn that Harry spoke in second year?"

"Parseltongue, the snake language."

"Who is Harry's godfather and what animal could he turn into?"

"Sirius Black and a black dog."

"Good." Hermione beamed. "It really is you, Ron!" She hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go. "Don't choke me to death, Hermione! We still have to get out of here." He sounded serious, but laughed seconds later. "Oh will mum and dad be surprised when I tell them of what I've been through." They laughed some more. "What did you go through?" Hermione asked him curiously. "I don't want to talk about it." Ron's voice grew bitter. "That's what Harry, I mean the fake one, said to me when I asked how he had survived." There was a hint of suspicion in her tone. "You've got to believe me Hermione. I'll tell you later, after I've understood what this is all about." He hugged her gently. "I promise. I promise with my life that I'm the real Ron. I just hope you believe me. Now how did you say you ended up here?" Glad to change the subject, she told him about reading the newspaper, being captured, being bought by Malfoy, the dirty bathroom, and then ending up here. She skipped the parts where she was stood on a platform almost completely naked in front of hundreds of people and the part when she woke up on top of Draco. "Wow. All that and it'd only been yesterday when you were caught."


	4. Draco the Traitor

Chapter Four: **Draco the Traitor**

"I wonder what had happened to Draco." Hermione wondered aloud. It was not much later, but seemed like it was. "Did you just say Malfoy's name?" Ron almost went totally ballistic. "Oh! No, of course not!" She lied. "Well, then what did you say?" She felt color coming to her cheeks and was embarrassed, although she knew that Ron couldn't see her face. "Oh, Ron! Will we ever get out?" She sighed hopelessly, expecting a 'no' from him. "Hey, I know a way we can get out!" "Really?" Hermione perked up and her back straightened. "How? I don't even know where we are, why we're here, or anything about this room expect where the door is!"

Ron chuckled and took her left hand in his own. "Come on, Hermione. I found a possible way out before you came. I've been here for probably a week, now so I've had loads of time. This place is actually a dark corridor parallel to the other one that you came from. It's a long walk to get out. You up to it?" She nodded, and then realized that it was impossible for him to see. She squeezed his hand lightly. "Yes. Let's start now." Standing, she let her hand leave the comfort of her friend's. "Are you sure? I mean, we can wait." He remained sitting. "No. I can't wait. We have to go right now." She tugged him up right when the door opened. Hermione squinted at whoever was there to see their face. She automatically clung to Ron. "We're leaving Hermione." The person drawled, and she immediately recognized his voice.

"Draco!" She was unaware that she had said his first name for the second time. And this time in front of him. They embraced each other, or rather Hermione did. He just stood there. "How did you get out? I thought that they might've killed you, or imprisoned you or something!" She smiled. This was all working out. "Don't worry about that. Just follow me. I think I know a way out." He pulled her softly. "Wait just a minute." Ron stepped into the picture. "Just where do you think you're going with Hermione, Malfoy?" They sensed the glares both men were shooting at one another. "I know a way out too. And Hermione's my friend so she's coming with me!" He yanked her arm back.

"Listen, Weasley. Don't mess with me. If you want to go your way, go ahead. Granger's coming with me. I own her and you have absolutely no right at all to take her from me. Now let go." Draco snarled pulling Hermione away from Ronald. He hugged her close as if to protect her, and made her follow him. "Wait! What about Ron! We can't just leave him to go by himself!" She complained and tried to get out of his hold.

Draco wouldn't let go and she continued to struggle. "Ron!" She shouted, but for some reason, he seemed to have left. He must've been aggravated and went his own way. She pounded on the blonde's arm, demanding for him to release her. All she got each time was a simple 'no', until they reached the door of the room they had come from. "Go." He ordered her and pushed her through. It was different now. "Where are we?"

The door behind them crashed shut and she was left alone with Draco. "What's happening?" Her voice quivered a little as the room started spinning around them. "Relax." Draco touched her arm, and she pulled away. She became dizzy and closed her eyes. She started to stagger about. He held her shoulders to steady her, and the spinning finally ceased. There was now a new door. This one stuck out like a sore thumb in the room. It was a blood red color. "We can go through here." He opened it and gestured for her to step inside. It looked pitch black. "Are you sure that's safe?" She didn't believe it was, and backed into the corner of the wall with fright. "I promise you." He said and carefully holding her arm as to not hurt her, led her in. The door closed loudly behind her and she wasn't sure if Draco had come in or not. "M-M-Malfoy?" She hugged herself and tried to see behind her. Stepping toward the door, she felt that the door was indeed closed and Malfoy had not come in at all.

When she turned around, blinding light shone in her face, and gradually became dimmer. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw that she was in an enormous room and looked around. It was made of stone, and was bare. With a deafening crack, Draco and a woman about his age stood in front of her. The woman was clinging to his arm and looking extremely smug. "Malfoy?" She looked at him in a confused way, and then to the woman standing beside him. "And you are…?"

"Oh, Granger. I just knew you wouldn't remember me. Considering how completely magnificent I look." She twirled a strand of curly black hair. "Pansy Parkinson. Remember? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't. You were always a stupid girl." She giggled and looked up at Draco. "Is that right, darling?" He nodded and smirked. But when Hermione gazed into his eyes, they were clouded over, with no emotion. It was… strange. She ignored this because she'd never took a really good look at his eyes and always thought that they held no emotion. "Pansy!" Hermione gave a fake grin and her voice dripped with honey.

"Of course I remember you! The little slut that always ran after Draco and every boy in the school. You never really could get a good date." It was Hermione's time to smirk at each of them. "And you." She turned to face Draco. "Are her boyfriend?" Pansy nodded as though she was one of those muggle bobble-head dolls you get at a fast food restaurant. "We're going to be married soon enough. Drakie-poo just asked me to marry him." She giggled with delight. "Oh, please. Why would I care? I guess ugly and ugly go perfect together. And by the way, Pansy," She looked at Pansy. "Your face looks so demented with all that mascara and lipstick and makeup you put on it. Children would scream when they took a look at you."

Pansy gasped and felt her face. "They would not! You were always a snob, Granger. With that big, know-it-all head of yours." She sneered and turned along with Draco. "Come, Draco my sweetie. Let's go and leave this ugly girl to her torture. After all, we have time to go have some fun in your room." She gave another high-pitched giggle. "You're sick!" Hermione shouted at them before they disapparated.

Although she despised Malfoy with all her heart, she couldn't help but feel disappointed when Parkinson had announced their engagement. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering what she had meant by 'torture'. Then, an announcer's voice boomed into the room and said, "Please exit this room at the door on your right." There was a crackle, a click, and then silence. Hermione stood in the same spot, debating on whether or not to follow the directions. Finally, she decided to and walked to her right. There were three doors there. She had to go through them, but which one? One was pink and looked okay. Another was blue and had white polka dots on it. The last was black with splatters of red paint all over it and looked creepy. She contemplated on which door to choose. Her best bet, she thought, would be the pink or blue one. But then, she remembered something wise Dumbledore had told her at their graduation. "Looks can be deceiving." She whispered, and opened the black door. It was black, which didn't surprise her, and she entered. She found that everything was light and there were four identical white walls around her.

"Wrong room." The announcer's voice scoffed. "But I guess since you're in here, we'll have to use it. We haven't used this room in a long time. It shows one of your worst fears." There was a click, and silence again. The room dimmed just a bit and the wall in front of her lit up like a movie screen. A room that looked like it belonged to an ordinary house appeared. It looked pleasant enough, with a fireplace crackling in the center. "No!" A man grunted and fell to floor. His face was facing away from her, but she knew who he was by the blonde hair on his head.

Evil laughing came from a man that entered the scene. It looked like it was Voldemort. His wand was pointed to the poor man, but he rose to fight back. More screaming from the man as Voldemort performed the dreaded Cruciatus curse. The laughing continued until the writhing man turned over, showing the face of Draco Malfoy, and he lay still. His eyes stayed wide open in fear, and were completely blank. "Avada Kedavra!" A flash of light. He was dead.

Hermione was horrified by this gruesome show and was still staring at the wall when it disappeared and the room's lights were brighter again. "How was that my worst fear?" She shouted to no one. "This thing must be demented or something! I can't stand Malfoy!" She screamed. The announcer spoke again. "This room never lies." Hermione shivered although the room was rather warm. "Now leave the room to the door in front of you." She did as she was told and opened the door, preparing for the worst.

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Author's Note: Whew! Now that was kind of hard to do. I usually start out with no ideas for my chapters and go along with everything and make it all up as I go. xD Anyway, please review! 


	5. Escaping and Dementors

Author's Note: Wow. I haven't updated for a few days. Oh well. XD Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. Without you, my story would not exist! Now on with the story!

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Chapter Five: **Escaping and Dementors**

Hermione rose her hands in front of her to feel around, but it was utterly black. No surprise there. She heard the door close behind her and she jumped in fright. It was quiet and creepy. "Hello?" She whispered, and took a step forward. "Hello?" She repeated a tiny bit louder. There was no answer. She moved forward and walked slowly, feeling around with her hands and feet so that she didn't crash or trip over anything. Every moment she felt around built her suspense. Suddenly, her hand felt something soft, like skin. Her hands moved over it and it felt like a face to her.

Torches on the walls abruptly lit up by themselves. One by one, all around the room. She stumbled backwards in fear and looked up at what she had touched. Her scream was loud and could be heard everywhere in the world. It was Draco! He stood still, and completely erect. And his eyes… They were open, but blank. He wasn't blinking! Now that she thought of it, he wasn't even breathing! She slowly edged toward him and moved her hand in front of his face. "Hello?"

He didn't blink and she walked backwards to study him. Was it possible that this was just a statue? She backed into something warm. Reaching behind her, she felt someone's chest and turned slowly. As she started to scream, Hermione's mouth was clapped shut with a fierce hand. She found that it was the same cloaked person that had tried to kidnap her at the Malfoy Manor. Questions poured into her mind and she tried to ask them, but her voice was muted.

She pried his hand away from her mouth and demanded, "Who are you?" The man lowered his head so that his lips were almost touched her left ear. "Do you really want to know who I am?" He whispered almost seductively. Hermione shuddered and decided that she might not want to know after all. "Uh…" Before she could answer him, he pulled off his hood and smirked at her. "Blaise Zabini?" Hermione gaped at the man. She hadn't seen him since Hogwarts and he was just as dashing as Draco.

Blaise laughed at her reaction and stared at her with a certain lust in his eyes. He leaned forward again and breathed against her neck, trailing light kisses along her neck . His hands found their way down to her lower back and Hermione pushed him away. "What do you think you're doing?" She said angrily, glaring at him. "Ever since Draco told me that he bought you and how you looked now, I've been longing to see for myself." He wrapped her in his arms and crushed her lips with his own. She wriggled out of his grasp although she had to admit that he was a pretty good kisser. "Get away from me!" She whined and tried the door that she had come in from. It was locked.

"Help!" Hermione started pounding on the door. "Someone help!" She felt a strong hand pull her away from the door. "Shut up, Granger. No one's coming. You little Weasel friend is lost in the dungeons, Draco's been frozen over there," He gestured to the figure at the end of the room. "And who else would help you?" He smiled kindly at her and gently held her hands in his. "Come on, Granger. Let's just enjoy each other's company." He leaned in the kiss her again, but a second later, he was knocked to the ground.

Draco was on top of him, punching his guts out. Blaise's face was badly bruised, his lip and nose was bleeding, and he had a black eye. Hermione gasped and watched as he was beat. When Draco finally got off of him, Blaise ran (or more like limped) to the door, and crashed straight through it.

"Draco!" Hermione embraced his neck and pecked him on a cheek, unaware of what she was doing to her supposed enemy. He looked totally flabbergasted. "How did you get here? I thought you were frozen?" She looked over his shoulder and the figure was still there. It was a statue. A sudden memory popped into her head. "What happened to Parkinson?" She slapped him hard for being engaged to the bratty, brainless girl.

"Wha--?" He looked even more startled and even a little hurt now. "What about Pansy?" He raised his hand to his cheek where she had slapped him. "That hurt." It was starting to get red now. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT ABOUT PANSY? YOU WERE ENGAGED TO HER!" Hermione burst completely and glowered at him. "I was engaged to Pansy? Oh, god." He rolled his eyes. "I was under the Imperius curse. They _made_ me to do it!" He glared straight back at her. "And you expect me to believe that?" She sighed and looked away. "It really hurt when she said that you two were going to get married. I thought— I wanted—" She shrugged. "Nevermind. Let's just get out of here, okay?"

The blonde-haired man raised his eyebrows and stared at her. "It hurt you?" He studied her carefully and took her chin into his hands, raising it so that she was forced to look at him. "Yes." She reluctantly replied, and prepared for a rude remark or punch or something like that. "Oh." He said and dropped his hands, suddenly becoming pale. "Let's just, erm, go." He led the way out the door and Hermione just followed him. For some reason, Draco seemed to know his way around the place. "This way." They passed through several corridors, doors, rooms, and finally reached a door that led outside. There was a small window on the top and one could peer through to see who was approaching. Hermione, glad to be free, thrust open the door and took in the fresh air. "Free at last." She inhaled deeply.

"Not yet, we aren't." Draco pointed and she followed what he was pointing at. There were a bunch of hooded dementors in the yard, gliding about. They turned to stare at the pair of newcomers and started floating toward the two. More followed and they started to surround Draco and Hermione. Draco pushed Hermione behind him and brought out his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" A patronum in the shape of a dragon came out of his wand and let he dementors feed on it. "Run!" He shouted and Hermione made her way around the edge of the crowd with Draco following close behind. Soon, they had entered a dense forest that reminded them of the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Looking behind them, Hermione was relieved that the dementors were not following them any longer.

"Wow. What was that?" Hermione gazed up at Draco. "What was what?" He answered, knowing very well what. "You were acting all protective and stuff." She grinned smugly, making him feel uncomfortable. "Oh, that. Just instinct." He said lamely and shrugged. "Don't expect it again." Scowling at her, he moved away from her. She raised an eyebrow and jogged to catch up with his quick pace. "So where are we going?"

Draco glanced at her for a mere moment. "Why do you want to know?" It was mostly a rhetorical question, but Hermione replied anyway. "Because." She decided that he wouldn't tell her so she got lost in her own thoughts, wondering why Draco had shoved her behind him when the dementors approached them. Soon, she had no idea where she was going and wandered straight into a cave. "Granger!" She heard Draco call her name and she was snapped out of her trance. A big, three-headed dog stood in front of her, snarling and slobbering all over her. It looked exactly like Fluffy, but white. Hermione eyes grew wide and she whimpered. She automatically felt around in her pockets for her wand, but when she grasped it, she remembered that it wouldn't work.

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Author's Note: Ooh! Cliffe! XDD Sorry I couldn't update earlier, I was busy. Wednesday I went with my friends for most of the day, forgot what I did on Thursday and Friday, Saturday I had morning swim workout and spent the day with my friend, and today I spent the day with my friend. (I also bought the sixth HP book today and it's actually a little boring the beginning. I'm not even 1/3 through with it. xD) It was pretty fun, but I bet you're all happy that I'm finally updating. Yay! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! 


	6. Hagrid

Author's Note: Ooh! Me think Half-Blood Prince is good! I finished reading it in the morning on Tuesday. It's not as good at the previous books, but the ending parts were so much better! Hehe. Now on with the story. Jeesh, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter. I'll try to make them longer.

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Chapter Six: **Hagrid**

Hermione backed away slowly, all the time watching those huge, sharp teeth the dog had. She backed straight into the wall and tried to shrink. As if it would make her problems disappear. She held her hands up over her eyes as the dog lunged forward. She was prepared for the attack, but nothing happened. "Yeh all righ' there, Hermione?" A recognizable voice asked her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw an older Hagrid standing tall above her. His beard was exactly the same and he was as cheerful as ever.

"You okay?" Draco rushed over and helped Hermione up. "Malfoy." Hagrid grunted and turned away to pet the white dog. "What _is_ that thing?" Draco sneered in disgust, which caused the half-giant to face him. "Fer yer information, this _thing_ is Affi. She's Fluffy's mate, she is." He beamed proudly at Hermione and ignored the still sickened male standing nearby. "So why're you here, Hagrid?" She smiled along with her friend. "Oh. Dontcha know where yeh are? It's Hogwarts, Hermione! Though' yeh oughta know tha', seein' as yer came ter see me an' all." It was awkward knowing that Hagrid had thought she'd come to see him.

"Hagrid." She hesitated and glanced at Draco, who was standing at the entrance to the cave, watching them. "We—I didn't come to see you." She sighed at the crestfallen look Hagrid had on his face. "But I was planning to." She added, trying to cheer him up a bit. It seemed to work. "It's just that you, know. You-Know-Who taking over and all. It's been hectic and you know about muggles and muggle-borns being turned into slaves." The corner of Hermione's lips sagged down as she said this. "No!" Hagrid stood up. "No, tha' can't be true!" He shouted. "Poor Hermione! So I take tha' Malfoy bough' yeh?" He glared over at Draco. "Yes."

Draco saw them looking at him and strutted over. "Come on, Granger. We're leaving now." He tugged on her arm and took her halfway back out before Hagrid stopped them. "Not 'fore Hermione tells me wha's goin' on!" He slapped Draco's arm away from Hermione. "BLOODY VOLDEMORT'S AFTER US AND YOU WANT US TO WAIT? COME ON!" He snatched her hand again. Hagrid shuddered slightly from hearing the Dark Lord's name.

"Wait a mo', there! He's after yer lot? I though' yer two were close or somethin'." He gestured toward Draco. "No, no." Draco impatiently said and resumed pulling Hermione with him. "Take Affi an' Fluffy." Hagrid said and went into the blackness of the cave, bringing out the two three-headed dogs. The two former students exchanged looks, uncertain of having the company of the giant, bloodthirsty hounds. "Come on. Yeh 'ave no choice!" The half-giant brightly grabbed them by the waists and lifted them onto the dogs. "Now yeh be good an' listen ter those two!" He said his farewells to the creatures and waved as the dogs happily bounded into the forest. "Bye Hagrid! Thanks!" Hermione waved back.

Soon, they were deep in the Forbidden Forest. "Ron!" Hermione shouted all of a sudden. "We forgot about Ron!" She frantically looked at Draco. "He's alright." He answered quickly. "I helped him out." She found this strange, but grinned at him. "You're much nicer now." Commented Hermione. "I like that." Blushing, she averted her gaze from him and thought that she saw him wink at her before she turned.

The two rode in silence for quite some time before they finally reached the end of the forest. Almost everything looked the same as it had been left. There was a wide grassy field surrounding the Hogwarts castle, and the lake planted near Hagrid's hut. The only thing wrong was the castle. It looked like an ancient fortress falling apart and many signs surrounded it. They consisted of varieties of, "Keep out. Dangerous." All Hermione could do was gape and stare at the ruins. The dogs seemed to be in awe as well, for they stopped and goggled at the sight.

Draco, however, seemed unaffected and he jumped off the giant animal. "Do you think this an enchantment of some sort?" Hermione still couldn't believe her eyes. "Isn't this what muggles see if the stray here?" She snapped around and looked down at Draco, expecting an answer. "Well, I suppose since Dumbledore died…" He looked embarrassed, but continued. "Since he died, and Potter died, they probably closed down the school. So this is what they made it look like permanently afterward."

"Oh." She returned to staring at the wreck that was once a school to many witches and wizards. "Hermione!" Draco shook her shoulder and pointed to the sky. She looked up and saw the Dark Mark hovering clearly over what seemed to be the cave that they had come from. Hermione cried out, and they were both unaware of him saying her first name. "Hagrid!" She started to guide Affi back toward the forest, but Draco stopped her. "No. He can take care of himself. We have to leave now. "Hagrid would've wanted that." He mounted onto Fluffy and they sped across the grass, passing the castle.

The dogs looked as if they knew where they were going, for they turned left after passing the castle, and onto the road that the carriages took at the beginning of the year. Soon, they reached Hogsmeade and were greeted with lonely streets. Every single shop was closed, like the Three Broomsticks, Zonko's Joke Shop, Hog's Head, and the rest. It was completely deserted. Trotting onward, Draco kept his eyes ahead, while Hermione looked around them for some sign of life. All she saw was a fly buzzing about.

"Wow. What happened here?" Hermione questioned to no one in particular. However, she already knew the answer. Draco realized this too, and remained silent. In no time, Hogsmeade had disappeared and they were heading through a wide meadow that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles in every direction. It reminded her of the ocean, except made of only green grass. "Let's stop and rest." Hermione suggested, and brought Affi to a halt. Draco agreed, "Good idea. These big dogs need a break, anyway." He copied her movements and hopped off. Embracing the giant, three-headed dog around his neck, he mumbled something to it. Hermione noticed him take something out of his pocket and slip it into one of the large mouths of the animal.

He turned and saw her observing him. "What?" He looked slightly irritated after they stared at each other for several minutes. "Nothing." Hermione dismounted Affi and taking out her wand, she conjured up a table, two chairs, and a whole feast in the middle of the grass. "Let's eat. I'm starved and I'm sure you are, too." She instantly pulled up a chair and dug in, wolfing down the food. Despite the fact that she was practically shoveling food down her mouth, she didn't do it quite as messily or as animal-like than Ron Weasley. Draco chuckled softly and sat down himself. He took a goblet of pumpkin juice and sipped it.

"I didn't poison it, you know." Hermione had stopped eating and was looking at him. "I know. I always drink this way. Narcissa always forced me to have polite manners at the table. But most of the habits she had taught me went away when she died." His voice was almost quiet, now. Unlike his normal drawl or scoffing.

After they ate, Hermione cleaned off the table with a flick of her wand. "So." Her fingers entwined as she propped her elbows on the table. "Since we have nothing better to do, let's talk, Malfoy." He eyed her warily for a while before nodding. "I'll do this 'talking' you want us to do if you call me Draco. Malfoy reminds me too much of my arrogant father." He looked truly disgusted as he talked about Lucius. "Alright, then. Speaking of our first names, why did you call me Hermione when the Dark Mark appeared?"

Draco stared at her fiercely, although it wasn't exactly a glare. "I guess… I don't know." He shrugged. "Does it really matter?" She shook her head ever so slightly. "I suppose not. And I assume that since I am calling you Draco, you should call me Hermione. Not Mudblood, not Granger. Just Hermione. Got it?" She stretched out her right hand for a handshake. But instead of shaking it, Draco took her hand and brushed his lips against the top. "As you wish, Hermione." He shot her a friendly smirk as she reddened.

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Author's Note: I have to stop here because I'm going to be late for swim workout if I linger any longer on the computer. Hoping that this chapter was okay, and review, review, REVIEW! 


	7. First Kiss

Author's Note: Hopefully, I can get this done soon… -goes ballistic-

**Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot**: You so need to update your 'I'm There For you!' story. I shan't continue this one until you do. Dx And you're right. I guess I forgot that Hermione's wand wasn't working. x3

**DudettRin101, malfoyXgrangerXsnape, slytherinsess, Hazelocean, forbiddenlight, HermioneCharlotteGranger, xoKaSsIeox, iliketosleep, Wrinkles the Troll, and all the rest: **Thank you for your reviews! I appreciate your support, and I'm glad to know that I have true fans!

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Chapter Seven: **First Kiss**

Hermione felt her face grow warmer; her heart skipped a beat, and she refused to make eye contact with Draco after that. She secretly thought that it was cute of him, but a part of her thought that it was revolting. Pulling her hand away, she desperately tried to search for another subject to talk about. Draco relieved her of finding one, though. "So I guess your wand works now?" She was confused for a split second, but then grasped what he was talking about. "Oh, yeah, I suppose so." She gripped her wand from the inside of her pocket.

Her fingers clenched together tightly on her lap, making her knuckles almost white. She felt a rustle as Draco rose from his chair, but didn't bother to look up. "Shall we leave now?" He asked her while holding out his hand, palm upward. "Let's." Hermione took it and stood up as well. She reached into her pocket for her wand, but Draco held it. "I got it." He took out his own and with a swish, the furniture vanished.

He pocketed the wand and held both of the muggle-born's hands in his own. After a while, Draco unhurriedly bent forward as Hermione closed her auburn eyes. All of a sudden, there was a loud explosion in the air, and their moment was ruined. Looking up, they gazed back at the area they had come from. There was a large fire spreading through the grass. Swirls of smoke rose to the air as the forest, Hogwarts, and everything else began burning to the ground. "Time to go." Draco pushed her toward Affi, and then climbed onto Fluffy. The fire was closing in on them. Hermione scrambled onto Affi's back and the four sprinted away, beating the fire.

Frightened with what had happened to Hagrid and what would happen to them, she kept glancing behind them. She saw some black dots flying closer to them, which grew into the hood figures of the dementors. They glided through the sky, getting closer and closer. Hermione gasped and fell off of Affi, who with Fluffy and Draco did not notice her silent landing. "Draco!" She screamed as the fire and dementors grew closer. "Expecto—Expecto Patro—!" She was too afraid to speak, and her wand hand was wavering.

Just was the dementors along with the fire closed in on her, Hermione whimpered and crouched down. She covered her eyes as if that would make her troubles go away. Hermione felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her up. "Gotcha." With a small grunt, Draco pulled her onto Affi and got onto Fluffy. As if reading their minds, the dogs ran away from the fire and the dementors, but the dementors were getting fast. "Expecto Patronum!" A powerful dragon patronum charged out of his wand, which caused the dementors to stop following them.

"That should hold." He turned and faced Hermione. "Are you alright?" There was an emotion on his normally expressionless face, and it was in his eyes, too. It was concern. It was genuine concern for her. "Y-Yeah." Hermione smiled weakly, her voice still quivering a bit. She looked down at the white fur below her and gripped it tightly. With one glance backwards, she saw that the fire had burned out and the dementors were gone.

They approached another thick forest identical to the one near Hogwarts, and entered it. It was early afternoon, now, but the shadows that the trees cast made it dark. After getting about ten meters into the trees, it became clear that Fluffy and Affi were to large to fit through. "We'll leave them. They can go on their own, and Hagrid would probably be looking for them." Draco hopped off, as did Hermione. She nodded. They were both assuming that her half-giant friend was alive and well. They watched as the two three-headed dogs bounded away, and were left alone in the forest. "Shall we?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, and gestured ahead with the other.

Hermione smiled and started walking, Draco by her side. "Draco?" She asked, breaking the long silence that surrounded them after they had started. "Yes?" He didn't look at her. She stopped and took his hand so that their eyes met. "Thanks. For everything." Putting her arms around his neck, they both leaned forward and their lips met. This time with no interruptions. Draco's hands snaked around her waist as they kissed passionately. His left hand came up and cupped her cheek and they broke the kiss. Their faces still only centimeters apart, she gazed into his eyes. He did the same and he smiled for the first time in his life.

Blushing, Hermione turned her gaze and backed up a little. "Come on." She said quietly, "We'd better go." Somehow, her fingers found themselves linking with his and they walked together in silence for most of the day. It was a pleasant silence, unlike the awkward ones they had together before. Too bad Draco had to ruin it.

"Hermione?" His grey eyes stayed staring at the ground as he spoke. "Yes?" He kept walking for a little while longer. "Hermione, I'm sorry." He stopped her so that they stood facing each other. "Sorry about what?" She looked so confused. So innocent." Draco heaved a sigh and looked straight into her eyes. "I'm sorry about kissing you earlier." He frowned when he saw that she didn't react at all. Her face just froze in a smile. "What are you talking about?" Hermione gazed questioningly at him. "To tell you the truth… I have a girlfriend." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I shouldn't have done that. I just… I don't know. I just got caught up in the moment, I guess. I like you. I really do. But Lucius would go insane if he even knew that I was being at least nice. You know how it is. My father's always ranting on about me getting married to a rich pureblood." He shrugged and looked away.

She simply stared at him, unblinking, for several long minutes. "Um, oh…" She suddenly found interest in her shoes and nodded slowly. "Oh, I guess. Um, I like you too. It's fine." She forced herself to smile, to not show how she really felt about this. "So you're really okay?" He watched her suspiciously. Choking on her words, she nodded. "Yeah, really."

They started their walk again, the content air around them fading away. Now Hermione refused to even glance at Draco. She let her head droop a little and kept her distance from him. "So," Draco looked at her for a moment. "Where do you think we should be headed?" She just shrugged, being of less help than a housefly. "Alright, then… I think that we should go back to the Malfoy Manor. Just to get some stuff. Then we should leave because they already got in once, didn't they? They'll probably know that we're headed there. Is that okay with you?"

"Why should my opinion matter?" Hermione spoke for the first time in over an hour. She glared daggers at him as she spoke bitterly. "Well, because we're in this together." Draco tried to get her to soften up and moved nearer to her to speak with her. She didn't cooperate. Every time he took a step closer to her, she took a step farther. "Just… Stay away, Malfoy. I don't want to talk." He finally gave up and shoved his hands into his pockets and they continued their walking in silence.

There was the sound of a twig snapping in half. Possibly something accidentally stepping on one. Neither Draco nor Hermione paid any attention, thinking that it was the other that did it. There was a soft rustling noise. Hermione, trapped in her thoughts, did not look up. However, Draco became fully alert, and he inspected their surroundings every couple of minutes. He saw something black and human-like race past them. "Who's there?" He looked around frantically for the person. "Did you say something?" Hermione asked, apparently uninterested.

Draco stopped in his tracks and continued looking around. "Yeah. I thought I saw something over there." He pointed to some trees nearby. Drawing out his wand, he held it in front of him. "Take out your wand, Hermione. We might have some company." He spoke to her without making direct eye contact. In a matter of minutes, someone clad in black tackled Draco to the ground, knocking him out swiftly. He looked like a Japanese ninja because of his costume. Only his eyes were showing.

Gaping at them, she stared, frozen to the spot in terror. Now she instantly regretted ignoring Draco's orders. "Wh-What do you want?" She asked, finding her voice and fumbling through her pockets for her wand. Taking it out, she held it in front of her, her hand shaking slightly. "Expelliarmus." The person whispered, and her wand popped out of her hands. The pair just stood there, watching each other for a while. "I want you, Hermione." He said in the same voice that he had used earlier. It was no doubt Blaise Zabini again.

"Blaise, please just stay away from me." She took a step backwards, and a little to her left. Her wand had rolled off to her left and was lying on the dirt. "Just admit it, Hermione. You know what you want." He lowered his wand a little. "What do I want?" Hermione asked, trying to distract him so that she could get her wand. "Me." Blaise took several steps toward her, and she backed off. Now her wand was just in her reach if she bent down. He didn't seem to notice this.

"You know what, Blaise? You're right. I do want you…" Hermione smiled encouragingly to him. He looked taken aback by her suddenly giving in to him, but grinned knowingly. She hurriedly bent, picked up her wand and pointed it at him. "I do want you to leave me alone. Stupefy!" He immediately became stunned and fell back unconscious like Draco. She turned and fell down to Draco's side. "Oh my gosh. What was that spell?" She racked her brain for the spell that revived stunned people. "Oh, what is it?" Thinking rapidly, it finally came to her mind. "Ennervate!"

Eyes shooting open, Draco promptly sat up. "Hermione!" His heart beat rapidly as his silver eyes darted about, then resting upon her face. "Hermione, are you okay?" He wrapped her up in a warm hug, her head resting comfortably under his chin. She murmured yes and closed her eyes, smiling inwardly. "Oh, Draco. I'm so sorry about earlier!" Gazing up at him, she felt awful. "If I had taken my wand out like you said, this might not have happened." Draco smiled at her and embraced her in another hug. "It's alright. Everything's okay." He whispered softly, stroking her hair. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have told you about my girlfriend. But I didn't want you to get the wrong idea, either." Hermione sighed. "I guess I have to live with that. But Draco…" She pulled back at stared into his eyes. "I-I think I love you."

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Author's Note: Soo… What do you think? Well, since I was too lazy to put up more than one chapter, I just made this one a bit longer than usual. Hope you like it and remember to give some feedback in your reviews, or just review. I love reviews! You should know that by now. Lol. And sorry for not updating for a week to those that didn't read my lookup. I got banned from updating because I put in a one-shot songfic. Apparently, songfics aren't allowed. I didn't know that. So once again, sorry! 


	8. A New Dark Lord?

Author's Note: A big thanks to those who reviewed and a smaller thanks to those that like my story. –shakes fist- You poopy people that don't review…

**Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot**: Hm. I suppose it was supposed to be funny. –shrug- I didn't give it much thought. I just put it in without thinking. XD And the symbolism thing you were saying; I didn't think much about that either. You have weird thoughts. XD COOKIES. –munch-

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Chapter Eight: **A New Dark Lord?**

"You do?" Draco stared at her with unbelieving eyes. Hermione smiled weakly and nodded. "Wow." For a moment, Draco Malfoy was totally and completely speechless. "Just. Wow." He eyed her skeptically before concluding that she was telling the truth. "No girl has ever said that and meant it." With a sigh, he let go of her and leaned his hands back on the dirt behind him. "They usually just say it because I'm so popular." A smirk flickered on her face for a second. "Or because Lucius is so powerful and rich." He ran a finger through his blonde locks and dropped his hand.

Locking eyes with Hermione, Draco took her hands. "I might love you, too." He looked down at their hands. Her delicate hands felt smooth against his callused ones. "But with all the confusion, lately… I'm not really sure." Hermione smiled at him and leaned her cheek against his warm chest. "I wish that you would feel the same way." She closed her eyes and suddenly felt tired. "It's getting darker." Draco commented. "Do you want to rest now?" Yawning loudly, she nodded in reply and soon fell asleep.

While she napped, Draco stayed wide awake, holding her in his arms. He constantly stroked her brown hair and gazed affectionately at her face. What he had said before was true. But now, he was almost entirely sure that he did love her. It was a burden to be a Malfoy. If only he could get rid of his girlfriend… She was probably still at the Manor, waiting for him. She had a beautiful face, but it only made up for her stupidity. Even a spoon was smarter than her!

Draco immediately straightened and looked around as he heard a loud groan in the night air. It was quite dark and hard to see without light. Fumbling through his robes for his wand, he heard another groan. It sounded much closer this time. He grasped his wand tightly and gently lifted Hermione off of him. He conjured up a sleeping back and carefully rested her body on it.

He gazed at her in a peaceful slumber and smiled privately. Another moan snapped him back to reality. Holding his wand ahead of him, he stepped away from Hermione. With a last glance back at her, he continued on to where he thought the source of the sounds was. The ground shook a little and there was a thud. Squinting, he soon made out the outline of a large body on the ground. Draco cautiously approached it and leaned close to the face. "Malfoy." It mumbled with difficulty. "Hagrid?" He dropped to his knees. "What happened?" The half-giant seemed to be in too much pain to speak. But finally, he did. "Malfoy." He repeated. "You an' Hermione…" A low grunt. "Have ter get out. Death Eaters." One loud groan of agony was the last sound Hagrid ever made.

"Hagrid, I'm going to help you, okay?" Draco was unaware that he was no longer breathing. "Hagrid?" He shook his former professor's shoulder. "Hagrid?" There was no doubt that the poor half-giant was dead. There were some light footsteps heard nearby. There were many, and Draco realized that they must be the Death Eaters. Quickly wishing Hagrid the best, he stood and hurried back to Hermione.

During the hours of darkness, it was hard to tell which direction you were going. Especially in a mass of trees. Draco soon became hopelessly lost. He continued to wander around, searching for Hermione. He occasionally whispered her name to see if she could hear him. Afraid to light his wand or call her name to loudly, he was not able to find her. It seemed like he was walking for hours and his feet quickly grew sore. "Hermione." He whispered and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Hermione had waken up shortly after Draco's departure. She sat up in the sleeping bag, looking around for Draco. Even calling out his name several times, she walked around the area. She heard some footsteps nearby and spun around. Seeing a shadow, she called out, "Draco?" All of a sudden, a spell was shot at her and fell, paralyzed. The Death Eater walked up to her and bent down to look at her face. "It's that mudblood Zabini has crush on." He shouted to someone. There must have been other people around, but Hermione couldn't see behind her. Another voice drew nearer as someone else walked up to them. "You're write. I'm sure he'd just love to see her again. Let's take her with us. If we have no use for her, we can just kill her."

"Yeah. Hey, she's kind of cute when she's scared." The first grinned toothily. Hermione could tell because his pearly whites glimmered a bit in the darkness. "Maybe I should take her for myself." She strongly hoped that he would not choose this. "No." The second shook her head. "Zabini wouldn't be too happy… I heard that he finished off the Lord earlier today. Turns out he's going to be the new Dark Lord because he's so young and able-bodied. It was originally going to be that Malfoy brat, but he seemed to have turned against us."

Hermione felt her body move up into the air. One of the Death Eaters must have been using a hovering charm. "If Zabini can kill the old Dark Lord, he could kill us. Best to be on his good side. After all, this is his girl. If we bring her to him, we might get a great reward." Said the first Death Eater. He and his friend laughed while they took her away.

All the while, Hermione couldn't take her mind off of Draco. What had happened? Did he get taken as well? Was he okay? Did he abandon her? The last question seemed unlikely to her, but she couldn't help but feel a sadness inside her. It was possible. She felt like crying as she remained hovering in the air. Her captors were silent, now. With the information she had, she decided that she would eavesdrop some more. In the case that Draco didn't leave her, she could be useful.

If she could, she would have sighed. But under her conditions, it was not possible. Her mouth was closed. She would have to do without one. After a long time, they finally reached the fortress in which Hermione and Draco had stayed. Hermione suddenly wondered if Ron was alright. Hopefully, he had escaped his own way and was long gone. The Death Eaters and she went to the main entrance. A set of heavy metal doors. Two guards stood on either side of it. Eyeing the Death Eaters carefully, one guard planted something small on each of her captor's upper arm. Where the Dark Mark was supposed to be.

With a nod, the next guard unlatched and unlocked the doors and the doors slowly creaked as they opened. This was all done in their silence and they entered. Unsurprisingly, it was dark where they entered. The doors closed behind them, the last trace of light disappearing. Hermione heard the two pairs of footsteps stride quickly, and had no idea where they were going. If she was going to escape, she wouldn't even know which direction to run because she was floating in the air.

Hermione heard a lock click and a door was opened, revealing light. It blinded her for a moment, but she soon became adjusted to the brightness. The light dimmed down and it was dark. Shadows fell everywhere. The room reminded her eerily of the dungeons at the Hogwarts castle. She was set down on the cold stone floor and her wrists as well as ankles were chained to the floor.

They must have released the paralyzing charm because she was able to sit up and take a good look around. On the wall opposite the door sat a throne. It was not as elegant as it should have been. The whole thing was made of some sort of metal. Probably steel. It was totally plain with only a black 'D' emblazoned on the back. The only indication that it was a throne was something that was shaped like a crown on the top of the back. It was part of the chair and stood out because it was constantly glowing black, white, dark blue, or dark green.

More than a dozen cloaked Death Eaters stood in a semi-circle on each side of the room. They stood in silence and barely moved. The worst of everyone in the room was Blaise Zabini. All the power having gone to his head, his eyes looked insane with greed. He eyed her hungrily and smirked unpleasantly at her. "Well, well, Granger. Looks like you've managed to evade me twice." He stood and took his time to approach her.

He bent down so that his lips were close to her ear. "But it won't happen again." He whispered roughly and straightened. "Now, then. It seems that Draco is lost in the forest. Isn't that convenient?" He smiled at her. This smile was menacing and there was nothing comforting about it. Like the previous Dark Lord, Blaise had once been handsome. During his Hogwarts years, he was what all the girls would fuss about. Draco had always been first, however. Now, his face was scarred and he always seemed to have a hint of madness in his dark eyes.

"Because you seem to care so much about him," Blaise continued, returning to his seat. "I suppose we have to care of that. The Cruciatus Curse, followed by the Killing Curse." His eyes flickered over Hermione's horror-struck face. "And maybe doing it in front of you would teach you a lesson." He added, followed by a loud snicker from him. "Take her away." He ordered to one of the Death Eaters closest to him. With a nod, he grabbed her brutally by the arm. Her chains disappeared, but she was sure there would be more soon. He pulled her along with him through a door that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He opened it and threw her in an even more badly lit room. It was almost identical the other one except smaller and there was no throne. She turned around and saw that the door had disappeared. That was just terrible. She lay on the ground and started to sob. It felt like forever when she had last been happy. She missed Draco. She missed Harry, Ron, Ginny. She especially missed her Hogwarts years. The best times of her life. She found herself growing tired and gradually dozed off to be awakened much later by her door banging open. "Time for your little show." Blaise grinned evilly and snatched her arm. "Starring the one and only, Draco Malfoy."

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Author's Note: MWUAHAHAH! CLIFFHANGER! -evil grin- Anyway... Sorry this took so long. I didn't feel like writing. Besides, I had like, no ideas. Please do review! Reviewers help me get through with this story. If I get more than five reviews from different people, I will probably update really soon. I love you all! 


	9. Crucio!

Author's Note: Here is chapter nine like I promised. Yay! I got 8 reviewers! –dances-

**slytherinsess**: What's wrong? Are you mad about my story, or what?

**Wrinkles the Troll**: Awh, don't be that way. I just made Blaise the new Dark Lord because I had nothing else to fill up all these empty gaps.

**Hermione Charlotte Granger**: I feel the same way about Blaise, but there's always got to be a bad guy, right? I might kill him, might not. If I kill him, there might not be a sequel, which I plan on making when I finish this.

**Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot**: Are you calling me dumb? e-e

**DudettRin101, mysteriouscharm, anna,** and **Ciara**: Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews!

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Chapter Nine: **Crucio!**

Blaise chuckled as he dragged her back through the door. Instead of entering the throne room, they entered a room exactly the same as Hermione's. Draco stood in the center, his legs chained to the ground. His eyes were sad and when she came in, his head snapped up. A flash of regret went through his eyes. "Draco!" Hermione wriggled out of Blaise's grasp and rushed to the blonde's side. She thrust her arms around him and buried her face in his comforting chest. "Hermione, I'm sorry." He whispered so that only she could hear. "I really do l-lo— I didn't mean for this to happen. Hagrid. Hagrid told me the Death Eaters were there, but I got lost on my way back." He look ashamed. Nevertheless, he closed his eyes kissed her lightly on the cheek.

Before Hermione could react, a Death Eater forced her away from him. "Get away!" She complained and struggled to get away. Her actions resulted in a tighter grip on her. He forced her to the wall and chained her wrists and ankles to it. "Ready to get on with it?" Blaise whispered in her ear. Chills ran down her spine and Hermione shook her head. "Too bad." He moved toward Draco, smirking. "I've been waiting for years to see you like this." Blaise remarked, twirling his wand in his fingers as he circled the helpless Malfoy. "I've always hated you… You always came out on top before me. But now, it's my turn to have some fun." He pointed his wand directly at Draco's chest. "Cruc—"

"Wait! Stop!" Hermione cried desperately, tears falling freely down her face. All eyes darted in her direction. "P-please…" She begged. "Please don't hurt him. I'll do anything! Please, I'll do whatever you say!" Blaise gazed at her for a moment, considering this. He lowered his wand just a little bit. "Whatever I say…" A smirk crept onto his face. Glancing at Draco, and then back to the sobbing brunette, he nodded. "Alright. But only if you agree," He paused, smirking even more. "To marry me."

She took a sharp breath and gaped at the sinister man. "Well, if you don't want to…" He started to turn back to Draco. "Let's just continue on with it." Hermione bit her lip. He raised his wand again and opened his mouth to speak. "Stop!" A voice yelped. This time, it was not Hermione. A Death Eater stumbled forward from the crowd, towards Draco and Blaise. "Please, Lord." The Death Eater was no doubt female. "Please, don't." She took of her hood as she kneeled to the floor. It was Pansy. "We can find some other use for him. But not this."

Blaise eyed her suspiciously and nodded slowly. "Fine. I won't kill him. You have until nightfall to find a better use for him. But for now, crucio!" He abruptly pointed his wand at Draco. Draco instantly doubled over. He didn't make a single sound. Hermione gasped and watched helplessly from the sidelines as he fell to his hands and knees. Pansy had stood and backed into the wall to watch again. She could not be identified any longer because she had raised her hood again.

This feeling for Draco was horrific. It felt as if his insides were burning and all the blades in the world were piercing his skin. Although he had felt this many times before, he had never gotten used to the feeing of pure torture. His eyes shut tightly as if it would help make the pain ease. He opened his eyes a little to see Hermione staring at him in terror. Draco heard nothing. He saw nothing… Except Hermione.

"I guess that should be enough." Satisfied, the dark-haired Lord pocketed his wand. "Take him away." He demanded with a wave of his hand. Lucius Malfoy stepped forward to take his son's arm. He immediately began quietly lecturing him about how he was ashamed to have a traitor as a son.

Draco wasn't listening. He knew that this may be the last time he could ever see Hermione again. Wrenching his arm away from his father, he ran to Hermione and cupped her face. "I love you, Hermione." He mumbled and kissed her deeply. Before they could get too into it, Draco was hauled away from her. "I love you, Hermione!" He yelled for all to hear. "Crucio!" Blaise angrily watched as Draco shrunk down. He kicked the blonde in the stomach. The same pain rushed through Draco and he grunted softly.

Hermione weeped loudly as he was being tormented. She continued crying even when Blaise had released the spell. Lucius grabbed his son's arm and flung him up. "You are a disgrace!" The older Malfoy shouted in the younger's face. "You are a disgrace to the Malfoy name!" He slapped his son and then dragged him out of the room.

The room was silent after this. Almost everyone was looking after the Malfoys. The Death Eaters soon started filing out quietly, muttering conversations to one another. Before long, even Blaise had left. They had all forgotten about poor Hermione. Not that she cared. She was too busy crying over Draco. "Miss Granger?" Someone whispered to her. Apparently, only one Death Eater had stayed. It was a middle-aged woman with fair hair. Her eyes were puffy and red, and her cheeks were damp. She seemed to have been crying as well.

"Mrs. Malfoy?" Hermione sniffed and managed to stop the tears. "Yes. I am just as heartbroken as you are…" She paused to dab her eyes with a white cloth. "Draco was and is now my only child. I know that you two really care for each other and you're the only one that can help him. "I am more than willing to trade my life for yours if you promise to keep him safe." She swiftly unlocked Hermione's hands and feet from the wall.

Rubbing her wrists, Hermione heaved a sigh. She wanted keep Draco alive and well as much as his mother did. "How can I help?" Narcissa smiled weakly. "I am sure that there are some prepared polyjuice potions in the Dark Lord's potion cabinets. Severus makes them himself. All we need to do is take some, which I will do." Hermione nodded and was silent the whole time. "We will switch off and be each other until you two are far enough from here." Draco's mother sniffled quietly.

"Alright. I'll do this, but how do I know this isn't a trick?" Asked Hermione. Narcissa laughed softly, her eyes containing a hint of insanity. It was almost hysterical, but Hermione could tell that it was mostly desperate. "I really care for Draco. I'm his mother, for heaven's sake. You don't think it's my job to protect him?" She let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't you want to help him?" Hermione nodded. "Then trust me."

Narcissa handed the muggle-born a cloak. "It's an invisibility cloak. After Potter died, the old Dark Lord swiped it from him. You can use it. Just follow me and I'll take you to where Draco is imprisoned. I'm sure that Lucius would have put him in one of the dirtiest." There was a hint of loathing in her voice when she spoke of her husband. Without waiting for Hermione's answer, she swept out of the room. Hermione quickly put in the cloak and hurried out. She followed close behind Draco's mother and made sure that every part of her body was concealed. She was thankful that she never had a very good growth spurt.

"In here." Mrs. Malfoy whispered after a long walk down various stone staircases and hallways. She unlocked and pushed open a heavy door. Without a moment's hesitation, Hermione entered and looked around. It was dark and the air was damp. She saw Draco walking across the small cell and to the door. "Mother? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here." He looked stubborn and closed the door. "I deserve this, Mother, so don't go trying to set me free. You could get hurt."

The pale woman smiled and peered through the tiny rectangular opening on the door. Just her eyes were showing. "I know, Draco. I just thought you might need some company." And with that, she left. Draco stared after her, contemplating what she had meant by him needing company. There wasn't anyone else around. He normally would have thought that she was referring to herself, but she had stayed for a short moment. One could hardly call that company.

"Draco!" A familiar voice squealed and he felt a body throw itself against him and embrace him from behind. "Hermione?" He winced at the pain, but grinned as he spun around. "Hermione!" Snaking her arms around her waist, he gazed into her eyes. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Smiling Hermione shook her head and pressed her lips against his.

After a long period of their intense kissing, they broke apart for air. "So how did you get here?" Draco said at once. "Your mother helped me." Hermione beamed and pecked him on the cheek. "She's such a sweetheart. I wonder how she and your father got together?" Draco shrugged. "Pureblood marries pureblood. Arranged marriages…" They embraced a final time and both sat on a wobbly wooden bench. The only furniture inside.

"Your mother told me about a plan she wanted me to perform with her." Hermione began telling Draco about Narcissa's ideas. "She wants me to take a polyjuice potion and act as her, and vice versa. She wants us to escape as far as we can before her potion runs out. The problem is, she will probably be killed if we follow through with this…" Hermione paused to steal a glance at Draco's sullen face. "I think that she knows that, too." When he didn't answer, she left him alone and stared into space. The rest of the day passed by in silence, and Hermione wondered several times why she wasn't being missed.

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Author's Note: One word. REVIEW. See what happens when more than five loyal reviewers actually take one minute out of their life to review? This chapter was kind of forced out of me, but whatever. 


	10. The Plan

Author's Note: Thanks so much to Angel for some of these great ideas in this chapter! She helped me so much with my writer's block! Everyone thank her!

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Chapter Ten: **The Plan**

The next morning, well at least they assumed it was morning, Narcissa opened their door and came in quietly. She took out two small vials for Hermione and four for herself. "I found some strengthened potions that Severus had been secretly keeping, so they should last for at least two hours and probably more." Draco watched from the corner where he was standing as they mixed their hair into the potions.

"Now if they come looking for you, I'll be in the room you were in last. I don't think they've visited that room since you left. Now you're both aware of the plan, right?" Hermione and Draco both nodded. "Good. Let's do this. Draco can take the invisibility cloak." She and Hermione drained their vials. The women had to lean against the walls to steady themselves because the potion was so disgusting and it was painful.

Once they recovered from it, they looked exactly like each other. "Now if you start to notice any changes that mean the potion is wearing off, take the second potion immediately. It won't be as bad as this time because there's a lot less to change." Hermione's body smiled at Draco and the real Hermione. She hugged each of them. "Now follow me." Draco put on the cloak and both did as she said. They walked up a long flights of stairs and stopped at the end of the last one.

"Now turn to your left and I'll got to the right." Mrs. Malfoy instructed them. "You'll find another split in the corridor and turn to the left again. That should lead you to the exit. There is a guard there and he will let Hermione pass. When you exit, there will be a forest surrounding you. Try to walk in a straight line through it and when you find a tree wider than the others, try to reach your hand inside the trunk. I have stored a broomstick for each of you, there. It's around half a day's walk there and please be careful." Tears were in her eyes and she went on her way. "Good luck!"

Hermione sighed and nodded. "Stay close to me." She felt awkward talking to someone she couldn't see, but turned left as Draco's mother had ordered. She couldn't tell if he was following her or not, because his footsteps were silent. So she had nothing to rely on that he was following. They went left again and soon reached the end. As Narcissa had said, there was a guard standing in front of the door. "Good day." Greeted Hermione. The guard gave her a mere nod. He didn't budge. "Um, do you mind if I pass through?"

He stared at her for a moment as if he could see through her disguise. But he stood aside and opened the door for her. "Thank you." Hermione stepped outside, taking her time and moving near the frame so Draco had room to pass her if needed. She heard the door close and they both headed into the forest. "You can take the cloak off when we walk a good distance away from here." She wasn't sure if Draco had heard her or not because she spoke in a whisper.

About ten minutes passed by and they traveled a good distance away from their prison. "Draco, are you there?" Called Hermione, unsure if he was or not. "Yeah." Draco reappeared just beside her. "Did you know that it gets warm under the cloak after you wear it for a while?" He said as they walked.

Sure enough, there were beats of sweat on his forehead and some of his hair clung to his face. She reddened at noticing this because it made him considerably more attractive. She merely nodded and continued walking in silence. Her feet were getting sore now, but she dared not stop. Any moment now, Mrs. Malfoy could be found out and killed. The Death Eaters could be looking for them at this very minute.

It was a long time before they spoke. It was Draco who broke the silence, "Mother was always kind to me. Unlike Lucius, she actually cared for my well-being. It was she who sometimes managed to convince my father into letting me have my way or to not hurt me." He spoke quietly and it made Hermione feel sorry for him. "But I think this is what she would have wanted. For me to be free and at least a little happy." He smiled weakly and stole a glance at Hermione. "She would've wanted to die like this. Helping me." He seemed to have taken it for granted that Narcissa would die doing this. Although Hermione knew that the likelihood was that she was going to, she couldn't help but feel that it was a little wrong of him to be so sure.

She was at a loss of words so she didn't say anything. But she took the vial and drank it all in one gulp. This time, she barely felt anything. Another hour passed by without a word. The pair finally reached a fat tree jutting out of the earth. It had gnarled, twisted roots that rose up through the ground and dug down into the soil. It was as if it were a monster that was reaching for the core of the earth. Doing as Mrs. Malfoy said, Hermione climbed on the roots and lightly trailed her fingers along the trunk. She began walking around the tree with her fingers still touching the bark.

All of a sudden, a pair of hands grabbed at her wrists. Frightened, Hermione looked up and saw the face of Senior Malfoy glaring at her. "You filthy mudblood…" He started in a dangerously low voice. "How dare you disguise yourself as my wife. Your dirty blood isn't good enough for you to pretend to be a pureblood." He sneered and threw her to the ground. She let out a small shriek and fell on the hard roots.

"Now you will be sorry that you ever did this." Lucius growled and took out his wand. "You deserve to live in the dirt that is your blood." He opened his mouth to speak and Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. "Avada Kedavra!" A voice shouted. Hermione was prepared to face death. She waited, but it never came. Slowly, she opened her eyes and found that Lucius was lying lifeless on the ground and she saw Blaise walking toward her. Scrambling to her feet, Hermione clutched her aching side. "Where's Malfoy?" He growled, clutching her arm tightly. His eyes bore into hers and she found herself stuttering. "I-I d-d-don't know." She looked away.

"Liar." He dragged her along with him around the tree and looked around. Draco was nowhere to be seen, although this was the area that she had left him. Blaise suddenly crashed to the ground and Draco's body appeared, the invisibility cloak sliding off of him. He pinned the Dark Lord to the ground and stuck his wand at his throat. "You have no business here, Zabini."

"Okay, okay." Zabini eyed the wand and held up his hands as a sign of surrender. "You win. I'll leave you two alone." Draco stayed still for a moment, but then got off of him. "Alright. Go." He turned and rushed to Hermione. Hermione's eyes widened when she say Blaise stand and point his wand at Draco. "Look out!" She whispered. "Avada Kedavra!" A desperate-sounding female voice cried and Blaise crumpled to the ground. "Mother?" Draco spun around and sure enough, Narcissa Malfoy staggered out from behind the trees. She looked terribly weak and exhausted.

There was a small smile on her face as she stumbled forward. She looked like Narcissa again and not Hermione, so the potion must have faded. There were still brown streaks in her blonde hair, and her eyes were still brown. "Draco I'm so glad you're okay!" Her voice was barely a whisper, and tears were streaming down her face.

Draco ran to his mother and embraced her tightly. She returned the hug. Hermione smiled sweetly at the scene. It was so beautiful. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she watched them. When they pulled back, Mrs. Malfoy's legs gave away and she dropped to the floor. "Draco… Promise me you'll take care of yourself." He nodded and bent down. Within a minute, the woman's breathing gradually stopped. She had died.

Hermione walked over to them and squatted next to Draco. "I'm sorry." She said. "Your mother was a great person." They both gazed at the late Mrs. Malfoy for another minute or so. "I suppose we should bury her." Draco suggested and took out his wand. He flicked it and a hole as well as an elegantly carved wood coffin appeared. He gently placed his mother in the coffin and gave her a last kiss before closing it. With another wave of his wand, it transferred itself into the hole. Draco closed his eyes and took the time to silently say his prayers. Hermione followed suit. "What about your father and Zabini?" Hermione asked when they were finished.

"We'll just put Lucius's body in here, too. Despite their differences, they were married." He walked around the tree and reappeared with the body of his father. He carelessly threw it down into the hole and closed his eyes. He thought a short prayer and then sealed the hole with his wand. It was as if it was never there. Hermione used her wand to conjure a beautiful flower and set it down in the middle of the dirt.

"May they rest in peace." She whispered. Draco nodded and walked over to Blaise. "He doesn't deserve a very nice funeral. Or at least a grave. We'll just bury him in the dirt to decompose." He used his wand to bury the body and looked at Hermione. "It's best if you and I go." He said solemnly. "We'll use the brooms that my mother hid in the trunk." Hermione agreed and they went to find it.

.-'**THE END**'-.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey, thanks for reading and sorry for taking so long to update. Stupid writer's block… I think that this is the appropriate time to end the story. I decided that at the last paragraph. XD Don't you think so, too? And don't fret! I will be writing a sequel very soon. As soon as I think of a good plot, though… Thanks so much for the reviews and I totally appreciate all of them. Don't forget to review for this chapter, too! Whether it's comments, compliments, critisicm, or suggestions for my sequel, they're all welcome. And thanks again to Angel! 

Just to clarify things, here were her ideas:

...When Draco and Hermione escape, they think that Narcissa is dead.

...Lucius finds them and tries to kill Hermione.

...Blaise enters the scene and uses the Killing Curse on Lucius because he tried to murder Hermione.

...He then prepares to destroy Draco, but Narcissa shows up and kills Blaise, in turn. (Partially my idea. Her original one was that Narcissa would kill Lucius instead of Blaise, but that was unlikely to ever happen.)

A HUGE thanks to **slytherinsess**,** DudettRin101** and **Wrinkles the Troll **who stayed with me from beginning to end. Love you!

And thanks to my other reviewers, too! You all rock! Without you, there wouldn't be stories for me to write.

**Ariesbaby**, **Queenofhell**, **Kristen**, **gilmoregirl450**, **forbiddenlight**, **Jaina Solo Potter**,** runaway mental patient**, **Dead Red Head**, **Samantha Grimmet**, **anwen**, **Hermione Charlotte Granger**, **iliketosleep**, **xoKaSsIeox**, **Pranks** **Are So Siriusly Padfoot**, **Hazelocean**, **malfoyXgrangerXsnape**, **beachbabe33**, **stbgt**, **myseriouscharm**, **anna**, **Ciara**,** retarted monkey**, **Anonymous** and **Arwen12323**, you are all great!


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